Kerilyn’s Story

The Woman Behind the Concept

Hi Everyone! ~ First, I want to thank each and every one of you for visiting Married to a Chef. By being here, you are helping us give the spotlight to the TRUE ‘back of the house’, giving us the opportunity to step forward from the shadows, to dispel the many myths about the lives of Chefs always being so exciting.

I mean, aren’t you ready to do this? I know I am. If I were to guess when you tell someone, “I’m married to a chef “(or someone who makes the restaurant work), their response is, “OOH, so he/she must cook for you all the time!” Sound familiar? I’m sure it does. Part of our mission is to bring some light to that completely false belief.

In addition, to connect you with others who are in the same place as you. I know it’s not easy. TRUST me, it took my husband and I TEN YEARS to get to a place where we were ready to get married. I had to really be comfortable knowing that this was what I really wanted.

It is SO important to me that we create a place for ALL of us. If I wanted to spill my feelings, I would have created a blog. (Honestly, there already is a pretty decent blog to go to) No. I wanted YOU to discover the tools of success in the step you are in. I wished I had these tools when I was starting out. It is my hope to give you what I did not have myself, what many of us have already figured out on our own. I also want us to be able to communicate with each other. We need to lean on each other when we have NO idea what’s expected from this industry.

A little about me, I’m a creative and sensitive soul on my 37 year-to-date journey to discover my purpose. (I think I’m closer than I ever have been before.) I live with my husband, Peter, of almost three years outside Washington D.C. in Virginia. He’s an Executive Chef at Chef Geoffs in Tysons Corner, Virginia. He inspires me every day to LIVE my passion. (Sound familiar?) My degree says I’m an Interior Designer, having graduated from The Savannah College of Art and Design, but my most recent accomplishment is becoming a Certified Life Coach! I became a life coach to reconnect with my 6 year old Kerilyn dream of helping others, so I can come to the table better prepared to help YOU find the answers that lie within. YOU have the answers to what you’re looking for, I am here to prove it to you.

Q: What were your first impressions when you first realized that by being with your restaurant man/woman, that you have become a part of the restaurant world?
A: The FIRST day my then boyfriend came home from his new job, I had made a cake and had a bottle of Champagne chilling, waiting for him to get home to celebrate with him. I had to go to work the next day so I wanted to head to bed, when he showed up at 11:30, utterly exhausted, I knew celebrating was the LAST thing on his mind. It was then that I knew that I was not sure what I was getting myself into.

Q: When did you know that you had what it took, within the parameters of his/her career, to find success in your relationship?

A: To be totally honest, it wasn’t until I dated (unsuccessfully) another 9-5’r for almost three years, that I realized what I had with Peter better suited what I value most; Freedom. It was only then that I realized that I could have the best of both worlds; the freedom to pursue my own happiness on my own time, and come home to my partner who LIVES his passion every single day.

Q: What is the BEST part of being married to someone in the restaurant industry?

A: Hmm… having a balance of alone time and carved out time with my love.

Q: How do you handle the holidays knowing he/she is going to be busy at work?

A: I really do support my husband in what he does. I know he’s got a kitchen to run. We have learned to find creative workarounds so that the holidays still hold their significance. Rescheduling holidays is one tool we regularly use…I mean who says Thanksgiving HAS to be on a Thursday?

Q: How has achieving acclaim and success, within the restaurant industry, changed your relationship?

A: It’s made me fall in love with him even more. I mean how blessed am I to be with someone who is an daily example of living an inspired life. I won’t say it doesn’t come with its challenges, but it’s figuring them out together that makes us both feel alive!

*If you want to know a little more about our story, our wedding was featured in The Washington Post

Kerilyn’s Story

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[...] Wife Chic”. Our first interviewee? None other than Mrs. Kerilyn Russo, herself, the founder of Marriedtoachef.com and wife of Peter Russo, the Executive Chef at Chef Geoffs in Tysons Corner, Virginia! Read on as [...]